Pause to Pray – October 2014

Psalm 24:7-10
7 Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 8 Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle! 9 Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 10 Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory! Selah

Have you ever wondered what that little word “Selah” means when you keep coming across it in the Psalms? The most likely meaning is that it was an instruction to the singers and musicians to pause to carefully weigh the meaning of what they had just sung. As we read these verses let us take a few minutes to pause and carefully weigh the meaning of what we have just read lifting up our hearts in praise to God for His great truths. Then let the revelation and truth of these words empower your prayer as you lift up to the One who is ‘mighty in battle’ the prayer requests shared below.

PRAY FOR EFN
Pray for the “18 days of freedom” campaign taking place on social media and in events on EU Anti-Trafficking Day in at least 11 nations, often involving partners who have never done anything like this before. Pray that many would learn about human trafficking. Pray for a hope-filled, united and effective campaign. #18daysoffreedom

PRAY FOR THE SOCIO-POLITICAL CONTEXT
We all know that many of the products we buy from multi-national companies come from dubious suppliers. Consumers want cheap prices, companies want maximum profits. Suppliers are supposedly inspected but middle men find it easy to hide exploitation.

In the cocoa industry of Ivory Coast, 1000s of child slaves are working indirectly to make the chocolate bars on our supermarket shelves.
It seems unbelievable that this exploitation is tolerated.

Let’s pray for the light to shine in the darkness, for consumer pressure, for corporate social responsibility to enter a new and decisive phase, and for slave free chocolate to become the norm.

COUNTRY IN FOCUS: FRANCEFor 5 years, Marcel & Ase Georgel have been pioneering work with women victims of trafficking in partnership with many Evangelical churches of different denominations. Great ministry is happening in Nantes, Paris, Montpellier, Orléans and Lyon. They would love to see the work spread to other cities.

Their vision is to get alongside the women victims of trafficking on the way to freedom in Christ and to build bridges with them to reach that freedom. They work hard to remember that these women are first God’s creatures before being prostitutes and that Jesus is their saviour, not the ministry.
So far, the ministry has befriended 300 ladies, mainly from Africa and Eastern Europe, and has been in regular contacts with 80 of them; 25 have left the street; 10 are attending one of the partner churches; 6 have denounced or fled from their pimps.

Marcel has come to realise how key Church is. Without Jesus and His Church welcoming and supporting the ladies, he finds it difficult to see them ever coming out of prostitution.
“There is a lot of hidden treasure in each of these ladies. To be called “papa” by them and my wife “mama” shows their need and the church has to be there to fill that need.”

PRAYER POINTS

Strength and wisdom for the projects so that they can really help

The individual girls who are walking away from exploitation and are in transition towards “normal” life.

More churches in France to be able to be “papa” and “mama” to vulnerable young women.

YOUR OWN NATION
Take time to also pray for your own nation, try to gather together with others and share what is on your heart for your nation and your ministries/churches and hear what God is saying to you. Do let us know any answers to prayer so we can rejoice together. Maybe you could be our country in focus in future months. Contact carole.coomber[at]nfhop.org with your praise reports and if you would like to be a future country in focus.